Not only do they give state-by-state comparisons, they show how
the U.S. measures up to the rest of the world in areas such as
health care, housing and defense.

But while analyzing what it's really like to live in the U.S.
today, they also uncovered a few "myths and truths" as the title
of the book suggests.

Enloe and Seager joined The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task to share three of
the most surprising misconceptions they uncovered.

#1: Land of Homeowners

The dream of owning a home is actually more the reality in other
countries. In the book, the authors point to the most recent
data, which show only 68% of Americans owned their home in 2002,
compared with 92% in Hungry, 84% in Mexico, 72% in the U.K. and
71% in Australia.

"One of the things that is a cherished notion about America is we
are a nation of homeowners, and homeownership has long been seen
as kind of the bedrock of the American dream," says Seager. "I
think the current economic crisis and the housing crisis is
really shaking that American cherished view of ourselves as
having easy access to homeownership."

This is evident in another stat laid out in the book, which shows
83% of people agreed that buying a home was a safe investment in
2003, compared with 70% in 2010. (See:
Why I Am Never Going to Own a Home Again)

#2: Land of Opportunity

Just like the ideal of owning a home, opportunity in this country
is now also on the brink.

"Opportunity in this country means a chance for an education …
[and] a chance for a decent job that allows you to have a decent
life," says Enloe, who points to two key factors that hinder
people making it here in America.

The cost of a college education continues to rise year after
year.

The unemployment rate remains high at 9.2%, but it doesn't
factor in the millions of "underemployed" workers—those who are
currently working part-time but would like full-time work—and
discouraged workers who have tired of looking for a job and have
just dropped out of the job market.

#3: Land of Givers

While the U.S. does give more money in foreign aid than any other
country in the world, as a percentage of GDP it falls way behind
many other nations.

Whereas Sweden gives almost 1% of its GDP in 2008, the U.S. gave
0.19%.

"I think it really should shake Americans' self-perception of two
things," says Enloe. "[One] is cutting foreign aid actually the
ticket to balancing the budget, but also how do we shape up
compared to other countries' generosity?"